We know for a fact that between 2013 and 2017 things did not go well at Nairobi City county in the use of public resources. There was financial impropriety.
A former town clerk and a Principal Secretary who served before devolution were among those charged.
The issues that led to last week's arrests are intertwined and traceable back to the defunct local authorities.
The public was swindled of resources and those responsible should surely be held to account.
The investigations should be expanded to ensure that no one is left out. However, as human rights defenders, we say the arrests must be done within the dictates of the Constitution and other existing laws so that the state does not end up violating the victims' rights.
That the suspects spent more than eight hours being questioned at Integrity Centre before being taken to court is not the best way as the suspects ended up staying in police cells beyond 24 hours, which is against the Constitution.
This is a matter of concern which stakeholders in the justice system should address as soon as possible.
It has become a means of abusing the suspects' rights. It is strange that some of these arrests cannot be done on Monday or any other day than Friday.
And in most cases, the prosecutors have been asking for additional time to complete the investigations. Officials from Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission should always endeavour to do thorough investigations before arresting suspects. That way you safeguard their human rights and the prosecution will have higher chances of securing a conviction.
When human rights are violated, we play into the hands of the suspects as they can move to the High Court for constitutional interpretation of whether their rights have been violated or not. This is why some corruption cases cannot be dispensed with on time.
If the war on corruption is to be won, then those charged with the responsibility must ensure that persons suspected of misusing public resources are investigated in accordance with the law.
The presiding convener of Civil Society Reference Group spoke to the Star.